Question about weight loss

[Fluff of Love]

I have a question about weight loss after the surgery.

After you have surgery, I'm wondering how the weight just "melts" off.
You aren't eating much and are not absorbing all of it, I understand, but what is it that makes the weight come off fast like that the first few months?

[Joanne]

First of all, love the Meg Griffin avi!

It's a total shock to your body for the first few months. Your restriction will be so tight that it's physically impossible to eat that much food. The malabsorption is at its highest, and you lose a great deal of weight. As with any diet, the biggest loss is always in the beginning and includes a lot of "water' weight.

The DS also has a metabolic effect that jump starts your metabolism and the way you store or dont store fat by affecting the way you process insulin.

As you get smaller, your body's caloric needs go down. This combined with you being able to eat more kind of levels things off over time.

What's your starting weight / BMI? You have to think about the weight loss in percentages of excess weight loss. It's not reasonable to compare pounds lost against someone else who had a different starting point.

EWL is a term for Excess Weight Loss, and is calculated first by determining how much weight you have to lose. I'll use easy math for an example. I'm 5'6" and a normal BMI for me is 154 pounds. That means a weight of 154 pounds would put my BMI at right under 25. If my pre-op weight was 254 lbs, that would mean I was 100 pounds overweight. (Disclaimer: I weighed more, but hey, the math is easier this way).

The good rule of thumb is:
25% EWL by 3 months
50% EWL by 6 months
80% EWL by 12 months

For someone with 100 pounds to lose, that would be
25 lbs by 3 months
50 lbs by 6 months
80 lbs by 12 months

But you can easily see that someone with 200 pounds to lose would lose much more weight in pounds, in fact twice as many pounds than the person with 100 pounds to lose, at the same points in time.

Also keep in mind, these are just averages. I've been around these boards a long time, and see people very quick out of the gate kind of peter out, some people very slow to start that continue to lose for years, and everything in between.

For my personal real stats, I was 140 pounds overweight. I lost 25 pounds in month 1, 15 pounds in month 2, and about 10 pounds a month until I weighed about 175 lbs. I still lost another 35 pounds from there, but it took a long time and some extra work.

[dlappin413]

Joanne, you put things so clearly. Thank you! Your response has helped me get a little better perspective. I'm now 9 weeks out (tomorrow) and, with a starting point of 310 and a goal weight of 140, that's 160 pounds total to lose. I have lost 50 pounds. Based on that, it looks like I may be about right on the mark or a little better as my weight lost is about 33% (not doing the exact math here); since I'm approaching month 3 and the rule of thumb is 25% at that point. THAT MAKES ME FEEL LIKE I"M GETTING SOMEWHERE>>> YEA!!! With the stall I had I was beginning to feel like I wasn't going to keep up with the "norm." I was wrong and so very glad of it. Thank you!

[Fluff of Love]

Joanne, thanks for the reply.
(I love family guy, so inappropriate but fun!)

The way you put it makes sense, thank you! I am 5' 6" & weigh 283 right now. My goal is to be around 160, and an ultimate goal after that would be 140. Anything between there will be okay though.

My metabolism has been so shot since I got pregnant in 2000, would be nice to have it back.
I'm so darn excited to get the ball moving, all I want is to not be sick and unhealthy anymore. I have 3 kids that need their mama.

Dlappin, awesome job you are doing so far!

[ynona74]

Thanks Joanne. You helped me too. I am 5'5" and currently weigh in at 242. For me to be healthy I have to weigh in between 115-135. So it helps to have someone who can do the "math" for me.
Dlappin...Just keep working your DS and you'll continue to do as fabulous as you have been.

[pktwatch]

When you see the large amount that you poop after the small amount that you eat you will understand......

[Joanne]

When thinking about a goal weight, keep in mind that if you've been obese your whole life (like i was), you might not realize what you'll look like at lower weights. Most WLS people look better at the higher end of the normal BMI range, or even somewhat in the overweight BMI range. Being obese for an extended time doesn't just affect your outward appearance, but your body actually builds up inside to support your weight. We actually get heavier bones, more blood vessels, etc - not to mention loose skin which also carries some weight.

My best advice is not to fixate on an absolute number, but rather on milestones. For example, mine included being able to run x distance, getting rid of high blood pressure, fitting in a movie theater seat with some room to spare - that kind of thing. Numbers can put an artificial idea in your head that might not even be attainable or healthy for you. You run the risk of feeling like a failure down the road if you dont reach it, when in reality you will be a huge success. Hope that makes sense.

[momx4]

Yes, thanks Joanne, cuz I could never really do the math for EWL either! and now I have an idea that I may be on track (i thought I wasn't)

[pandykorn]

FML i been doing this EWL calculation over and over and i am barely making it at 40% for 6 months mark on Jan12.... i didnt make 25% either.

[Joanne]

Jan 4, 2012 19:33:05 GMT -5 pandykorn said:

FML i been doing this EWL calculation over and over and i am barely making it at 40% for 6 months mark on Jan12.... i didnt make 25% either.

I think you're doing just fine. From your signature you're 5'7" and started at 318, right?

Normal BMI for you is 159 lbs. That means you were 159 pounds overweight. I calculated 318 (starting weight) minus 159 (normal BMI weight) = 159. Coincidence that it's the same number!

Looks like you lost 70 so far? 70 divided by 159 is 44%, and you're not even to 6 months yet.

I'd say you're right where you need to be.

And remember, those are averages. For everyone who does a little more, someone does a little less. In the grand scheme of losing your morbid obesity, dont let a few pounds or a few weeks get you down.

[valgroce]

Let's just say don't look a gift horse in the mouth.
It happened - I'm happy

[bb212]

Jan 4, 2012 10:18:41 GMT -5 pktwatch said:

When you see the large amount that you poop after the small amount that you eat you will understand......

Yes, what PKT said. Sometimes I don't know where all the poop comes from. It's like like the Einstein-Rosen brige of poop, there's another dimension of poop that drains out of my colon.

[Deleted]

Jan 4, 2012 19:33:05 GMT -5 pandykorn said:

FML i been doing this EWL calculation over and over and i am barely making it at 40% for 6 months mark on Jan12.... i didnt make 25% either.

Don't worry about it. This is a marathon, not a sprint. If you follow the rules, your weightloss window will most likely never close. Yes, there *are* exceptions to this, but they are exceptions, not the rule.

Furthermore, expecting to lose 100% of your excess weight is unrealistic. Please remember that as you look at these percentages. 80% is more reasonable for the DS, possibly a little more. Average EWL maintained at the five year mark for the DS runs around 80-85%.

[Psyche]

I did not hit my personal goal until 18 months out. I confess I did stress early on, but it all came together in the end.

[Fluff of Love]

Thank you everyone. Makes sense now.

Jan 4, 2012 10:18:41 GMT -5 pktwatch said:

When you see the large amount that you poop after the small amount that you eat you will understand......

Haha! I can hardly wait!